If you subscribe to Office 365, you’ll also get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and a variety of other apps. Unlike Google Drive, OneDrive can be purchased a la carte, although it is most often purchased as part of an Office 365 plan.
Google Apps with unlimited storage and Vault: $10/user/mo Google Docs or Google Drive)Ģ) “Google Apps for Work” Business plans: Gmail users or heavy users of other Google applications (e.g. People who need a variety of tools for their businessĬlient-based businesses that often send documents back and forth to clients No option to buy Google Drive for Business as a standalone service You can easily share links to Google Docs or Sheets, and you can also quickly share links to any type of document stored in Google Drive. Google Drive comes with robust built-in sharing features. Up to 1 TB of data per user is available as an upgrade. Many businesses choose Google Apps for email hosting-wanting to take advantage of the Gmail platform.Īlong with Gmail, Google Apps users get 30 GB of Google Drive storage automatically. Google Drive works extremely well for anyone who regularly uses Google Docs, Google Sheets, one one of Google’s other web applications. Google Drive comes bundled with a variety of applications in Google Apps for Work. Pro for individuals, 1 TB storage: $8.25/user/moīusiness for teams, “As much space as needed”: $12.50/user/mo (starts at 5 users) This makes Dropbox a great choice for anyone that needs to backup files-or who often works using multiple devices.ĭropbox works on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle, among other systems.ĭropbox was primarily built for individual use, but over time the company has added a number of features to improve its use within a business setting.įewer IT admin controls than other cloud storage servicesĢ) “Dropbox for Business” Business plans: Drop a file in the folder on your computer and Dropbox will sync it to its servers in the background. You can also sync all or some of your Dropbox folders to your desktop. You can upload any type of file to Dropbox. If you want simple, effective cloud storage for your files, Dropbox is the service for you. Here are a few specific details for each of the six services we’re covering in this article: It’s not built for business tasks or collaboration the way the other services are. Personal cloud storage is best for personal uses.
If you’re a programmer, Amazon Web Services is highly flexible and can be customized to do almost anything. API-focused cloud storage (Amazon Web Services)Īmazon Web Services is a complex service that’s primarily built for developers and IT administrators. Google Docs or the web version of Excel), and a variety of other tools-including cloud storage.ģ. With both Google and Microsoft services, you get hosted email, a calendar, word processing and spreadsheet apps (e.g. Google Drive and OneDrive are usually purchased as part of a broader suite of applications. Cloud storage as part of a broader suite of web applications (Google Drive and OneDrive) This is different than signing up for Google Apps or Microsoft Office 365, which include cloud storage as part of a suite of applications you get with your subscription.Ģ. When you sign up with Dropbox or Box, you’re buying cloud storage directly. Dedicated cloud storage (Dropbox and Box)ĭedicated cloud storage services are simple and straightforward. Of the six services we’ll be profiling, they all fall into four broad categories:ġ. Your needs should dictate which service you choose, and each of these purposes will need different features. Before you start evaluating features, first define exactly why you need cloud storage